


I Want to Try

by hans_jisquirrel, Hyunjjins



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: 3RACHA, ?? - Freeform, Babysitting, Background Relationships, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Parenthood, Slow Burn, domestic as fuck, first fic on here sorry if it’s bad, idk what else to add rn, more tags will be added, rated for language, um yeah
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-07-22
Packaged: 2019-10-28 00:36:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17777216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hans_jisquirrel/pseuds/hans_jisquirrel, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hyunjjins/pseuds/Hyunjjins
Summary: “Channie?”“Hey, Jimin. I know it’s late, but I need a little help with... something big.”“Woah, shit. This sounds serious, are you ok?”“No, I’m fine it’s just... Um, you used to babysit, right?”________________or Chan gets thrown into the world of parenting very suddenly and needs the help he can get





	1. A Basket in the Hallway

“Jisung! I’m back!” The man walks into his apartment and greets his roommate. Bang Chan had finished up his work about an hour ago and welcomed the thought of being able to go home before the sun had fully set.

 

He spies his roommate sprawled out on the couch, and it became obvious that the younger boy was startled at his sudden arrival.

 

“You’re home early, aren’t you? The sun set, like, 10 minutes ago? What time is it?” Jisung babbles on, thinking he lost track of time.

 

“Calm down, ‘Sung,” Chan takes off his shoes and sits on the couch, promptly shoving the others legs off. “I finished all the songs that PD needed, so I was able to come home. How was your day?”

 

“‘s fine,” he shrugs, “Hyunjin said that he and Bin finally got all moved in.”

 

“He went to school today?”

 

“No, I called him earlier. Bitch Boy Binne wouldn’t pick up his phone,” Jisung joked, accentuating his point using alliteration. Chan laughs but pushes at him for being disrespectful.

 

“I should give him a call. He wasn’t at work today either, it will be nice to hear his voice,” Chan starts to take out his phone. He searches his contact list for ‘Spearbin🖤’.

 

“I’ll bet you ten bucks that they are sleeping right now,” the younger proposes, eyes focused on on whatever is on his phone.

 

“That’s a useless bet, we literally share our money,” he answers, dialing and listening to the rings.

 

“It’s more about the principle of it, old man. Wait, put it on speaker.”

 

Chan does so, and a few more rings are heard throughout the small apartment before they stop abruptly.

 

“Hello?” a tired voice came through the phone.

 

“I called it! Thank you, Seo Changbin, you won me ten metaphorical bucks!” Jisung gloats and makes kissing motions towards the phone. Chan rolls his eyes, fondly.

 

“Do I even want to ask?” the boy on the line spoke up. The distinct laugh of his boyfriend, Hyunjin, could be heard in the background.

 

“No, you can just ignore him, as usual. Anyways, how’s the new place?”

 

“It’s pretty nice, actually. A bit on the smaller side, but we’re satisfied with it,” his voice was soft.

 

“Whipped!” as usual, Jisung yells and ruins the soft moment.

 

“Yeah, it’s also nice to get some fucking PEACE and QUIET for once, JISUNG!” Hyunjin’s laughing got louder as his boyfriend bickers with his groupmate.

 

“I don’t deserve this disrespect! Chan tell

him to not be mean!”

 

“Y’all are tiring,” Chan covers his ears faux-annoyance on his face. “Maybe I should just go solo.”

 

Jisung sent him a look, the look.

 

“Don’t you dare, you littl-“

 

“Bichi naneun sollo. Du du du du du du dududududu,” the boy sang, ignoring what the older was trying to say.

 

“Nevermind, only Sungie has to leave. Changbin you’re still in we can be 2racha.”

 

“2basco,” Hyunjin offers a better sounding name. Changbin high-fives him.

 

“Wow, this is the ultimate betrayal. This is so sad, Alexa play Shoot Me,” Jisung laments, hands thrown over his heart. Everyone laughs for a bit. Changbin notices the time and speaks up.

 

“It’s 7:30, Hyunjin and I should probably get off of our asses and get some food.”

 

“Yeah same here, I’m hungry,” Chan replies. A murmur of ‘Chris is hungry’ comes from Hyunjin’s voice. He lets out a soft chuckle and the boys say their goodbyes.

 

Chan hangs up the phone and tosses it aside. He turns towards his roommate.

 

“Have you eaten dinner yet?”

 

“Unless chips count, no I haven’t,” he shrugs.

 

“D’ya want me to make something or should we order takeout?”

 

“Let’s just order takeout,” he suggests. “You don’t get home before 10 very often. I miss you, even though we live together.”

 

Chan envelops the younger in one of his smothering hugs, going on about how cute and sweet the younger is. After about 2 minutes of bone-crushing snuggles, Chan lets Jisung go back to the living room as he picks his phone and orders the closest chicken takeout to their apartment. He hangs up after placing the order and sits next to the younger boy on the couch.

 

“Did you ever find that cute boy from the dance showcase?” he asks, Jisung looks back at him.

 

“Kind of?” the boy answers, unsure. “Jinnie said that he knows him? His name is Minho, and that’s about all I’ve got. He does a lot of dance shows and competitions, but I haven’t been able to find him anywhere. Do you have any idea how many ‘Minho’s there are in Korea? There’s a whole lot, Chan!”

 

“That’s rough, mate,” Chan opens his arms, Jisung gladly accepts and leans into him. “I hope you find him soon.”

 

The boy looks dreamily at the janky-ass apartment ceiling, “He was so nice. And he was hot as hell. Dancing should be made illegal, it has killed two known victims and countless unknown.”

 

“Two?” Chan laughs at his over dramatic friend. “Who’s the other one?”

 

“Uh, Changbin? Have you seen him when Hyunjin dances?” Jisung fake gags.

 

“Oh hush, you know you want to be like that with ‘Minho,’” Chan teases, putting the name in air quotes.

 

“Fine, maybe we’re both just disaster gays! But to be fair I have never learned how to be a proper confident gay!” Jisung tries to defend himself. Chan just laughs and pulls him closer.

 

About five minutes later, the boys start to watch a movie that they found lying around the apartment. It was some old kids animation that neither of them were particularly interested in, but it was still something to use as background noise as they fade in and out of conversation. Half-way through the movie, their doorbell rings and Chan gets up to grab the food. (That is, after he lost the ‘nose-goes’ game).

 

He returns to the couch, chicken in hand, and plops the delivery bags onto their old coffee table, as they don’t have a proper dining room. He scolds Jisung, telling him to wait until he grabs plates and silverware to start eating. The boy on the couch pouts, but he listens to the older.

 

They were not aware of it at this time, but the very next moments of this, seemingly peaceful, evening would change their lives forever.

 

A ring sounds throughout the living room. The boys, at this point, were still enjoying their takeout chicken and neither of them wants to get up and check who is at the door. Chan eventually convinces the other because he ‘got the door last time.’

 

Jisung puts down his silverware and, with cheeks still stuffed with food, heads over to the door. He stands a bit on his tip toes to look through the peep-hole. His face scrunches in confusion and he reaches to open the door, suddenly nervous. He opens the door.

 

“Chan,” he calls into the apartment, voice riddled with worry, “please come look at this.”

 

Chan doesn’t like the worried tone in his friends voice and gets to the door as quickly as he can, without looking panicked. When he stands at the door he first sees a bag that looks packed with whatever is inside it. Next, however, he sees something that makes all the blood drain from his face.

 

A baby, tucked away in the carrier, and a note that lays on top of the blanket.

 

Chan doesn’t know what to do, but he knows better than to leave the baby in the apartment hallway. So, he takes the sleeping baby inside and tells Jisung to take the bag left next to him. With shaking hands, he picks up the note. It reads:

 

Dear Chan:

You probably don’t remember me, and that’s fine. I would like it better if you don’t know who I am. However, there is something you should know.

I’ve been trying to keep him a secret from everyone but especially from you. I didn’t want to have to face you after what had happened that night. But, my situation has turned drastic and I am in no position to take care of him.

His name is Yejoon, I gave him your surname, as I wanted him to grow up with some connection to you. He is yours, there is no other possibility.

I understand if you do not want to take him, but I just needed to try. He is my son and I want him to grow up as a happy boy, but I can no longer be apart of his journey.

Please don’t try to look for me, I’m sure that by the time you finish reading this, that I’ll be gone. Please consider taking care of him. He is your son Chan.

Sincerely,

Yejoon’s mother

 

Inside the note also lays the baby’s, Yejoon’s, birth certificate. According to it, the baby boy was only 2 months old. Along with the birth certificate, falls another sheet of paper. This sheet contains many tips for baby care and handling.

 

Chan feels like he’s going to throw up. His face is completely drained of color and he forces himself to sit down on the floor, next to baby Yejoon. His son.

 

“Chan, what does the note say? We need to call this baby’s parents. It looks too young to be out on its own. Oh my god, Chan, what if-“

 

“He’s mine,” it is said quietly.

 

“Wha- What do you mean?”

 

“I- I dunno. I don’t really understand it either.”

 

“Should we get a DNA test or..?”

 

“Jisung, I can’t keep this baby. I- I mean look at this place! This is all we can afford right now, babies are expensive. Plus, I don’t know shit about childcare! And 3racha! I- I can’t be doing shows and gigs if I have a baby with my and... oh my god,” Chan is hysterical at this point. He is confused and he has no clear direction of what to do. “I have to give him up Ji-“

 

“Fuck no, you can’t!”

 

“Sungie, what else can I do?” he yells.

 

“We can try! Nayeon a- and Jeongyeon, they can help! We can...”

 

“I can’t do this. I canno-“

 

“And I’m not letting your son, or any kid for that matter, go into any type of foster care system! Not while I can prevent it!”

 

“Ji, I-“

 

“No, Chan, you don’t understand! I grew up in that fucking system and I know what kind of hell goes on behind the facade. I never felt loved or anything close to it. This kid... we can give him a loving home. We can give him people that care about him. It’s obviously going to be hard, but I don’t think I would be able to sleep at night knowing I could have prevented him from experiencing what I did,” Jisung is crying, he remembers the memories that had been tucked away for many years and now they are all spilling out.

 

Yejoon must have heard all the commotion happening around him, because he had woken up. Both of the adults’ eyes are on him now, as he scans his unfamiliar surroundings. Then, as babies do, he begins to cry.

 

Panic evident on his face, Chan scoops up the baby from the carrier and just holds him close. This doesn’t seem to work extremely well for him, as the cries continue. He begs Jisung for help and asks him to follow the directions given to them and prepare a bottle for the baby.

 

Chan is out of ideas on how to calm a baby, so he uses what calms him most. Music. He doesn’t really know which song is right or wrong for calming babies, so he just makes up soothing, slow melodies and hums them gently to his son. The cries grow softer, until quiet took over takes the apartment once again.

 

“Well, would you look at that? Love of music must run in the family, then?” Jisung walks back from the kitchen, warm bottle in hand. He sits down next to the two on the couch.

 

Chan was finally able to get a good look at the baby boy. He resembles a lot of his family members. Visions of his little brother make his way into mind, and he is convinced that this baby is, indeed, one of the Bang family tree. Yejoon really is a very cute baby. Chan smiles down at him, tears in his eyes.

 

“This is so overwhelming, Ji,” he wipes his free hand across his eyes, “but I think he will be worth it. I want to try.”

 

Jisung beams at his friend and starts to tear up as well, hugging Chan as close as he can without disturbing the, finally, sleeping baby. Chan asks Jisung to hand him his phone and he looks through his contacts, finds the exact woman he is looking for, and presses call. She answers almost immediately.

 

“Channie?”

 

“Hey, Jimin. I know it’s late, but I need a little help with... something big.”

 

“Woah, shit. This sounds serious, are you ok?”

 

“No, I’m fine it’s just... Um, you used to babysit, right?”


	2. Monetary Issues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took longer than expected!! Also the formatting is still really weird for me, as i have to write this on my phone. I don’t have access to a computer at the moment, so i will probably have to come back to this and edit it when i do!! anyways, woojin is an angel and i love him!

“Kim Woojin! Get the fuck up and turn off your goddamn alarm!”

 

Per usual, Woojin is awoken by his roommate’s screaming rather than by his own alarm. He rolls over to turn it off, and then he stretches himself out of bed. He walks to the kitchen, determined to get some sort of breakfast before he heads into work. They don’t have much, in terms of food, but he picks up what seems to be some sort of protein bar. It tastes like shit, but it will give him the needed energy so he sucks it up and tries to choke it down anyway.

 

As he sits on their not-so-new couch, he turns on the news and prays that their cable wouldn’t give out on them now, or his roommate would be furious. On cue as always, Minho opens his door dramatically. His body is covered by a blanket and his dark hair is an absolute mess.

 

“You look like you just escaped the depths of hell,” Woojin comments, picking fun at his best friend.

 

“Ugh, it feels like I did too. Why do people always have to be dumb all the time? Can’t they just let me have a normal shift, for once?” the tired man replied, plopping down next to Woojin on the couch.

 

“Oh, god,” he chuckles, “what happened this time?”

 

“Are you sure you want a ‘Minho Rant™️’ at,” he pauses to look at the clock on the microwave, “7:03 in the morning?”

 

“Shit is it already seven? Dammit, I should get ready,” he bolts up from the couch and into his room to search for clean clothes. He mentally sets a reminder to visit the laundromat after his shift today.

 

He picks up a basic outfits of a black t-shirt and a pair of black jeans to match, along with a belt (safety first). He doesn’t bother putting on much else, aside from a bit of deodorant, as he only plans on working his shift today.

 

After getting ready, he peers at the clock and notices that he still has a good five minutes before he needs to leave. So, like any productive adult would do, he sits his ass back on the couch and sighs dramatically.

 

“And you call me a drama queen,” Minho says, mouth full of whatever he found for breakfast.

 

Without taking his eyes off of the ceiling, Woojin fires back with, “Don’t talk with your mouth full, that shit’s nasty.”

 

“Okay, dad.”

 

“I think I might take another job,” Woojin says after a beat. Minho whips his head around to look at his friend.

 

“Dude, no, you’re over worked as i-“

 

“Not like another full time job, just maybe something small that I could do in the evenings. I dunno maybe I could babysit again? I think I was pretty ok at that.”

 

“I forgot you used to babysit, to be honest.”

 

“Yeah, I looked after Jeongin. And he’s still alive,” Woojin says, as if this was his best achievement as a babysitter. “And I am, technically, trained enough in childcare to do it.”

 

Minho rolls his eyes, “Ok mister ‘technically trained,’ you’re about to be late.”

 

“Shit!” Woojin bolts off of the couch, once again, grabs his jacket and cap, and rushes out of the door. He shouts a quick ‘goodbye’ to Minho in his rush to get to the coffee shop.

 

The cold bites at whatever exposed skin he has, so he lowers his head and makes his way through the morning crowds. He takes his phone out of his pocket and swipes it open to play some background music. He ends up playing his own created Spotify playlist entitled ‘Music to Block Out Everyone Around You.’ The music does exactly what it is titled.

 

About half an hour later, Woojin arrives at the small café where he works. In a hurry to get out if the cold and into the heated building, he dashes in the front door, startling a few of the people dining inside. He enters the ‘Employees Only’ door and finds his section of the hooks, undoing his jacket and taking off his hat. He hangs his outer wear, and puts on his apron, adjusting it as needed. Taking his place at the front counter, he lets the woman who’s shift is ahead of his off work and wishes her a good day.

 

There were only a few people at the café this early in the morning, most of them appearing to be tired college students who don’t have classes yet. As no one seems to be coming in yet, Woojin busies himself with cleaning the counters and the machines, as well as checking up with the kitchen staff for restocking the pastries that had been running low. He stretches and yawns, debating whether to make himself something before the morning rush comes in. Eventually, he decides against it as that would mean he’d have to pay for it out of pocket.

 

Two minutes go by, as Woojin continues mindlessly cleaning, and three boys walk in, two of them holding hands while the other stumbles into the ‘Employees Only’ room.

 

“Hey Jeongin, Seungmin,” he greets them both readying himself at the counter.

 

The greet him back, “Sorry about him. I tried to get him to leave earlier,” Seungmin explains nodding his head at the door that Felix, a young part-timer, had run into. Woojin exhales in a laugh.

 

“‘S fine, as long as he’s here before the rush, I don’t really mind if he’s late or not. I won’t snitch,” he made a zipper motion over his mouth. “You guys want the usual before you head out?”

 

“Yes, please,” Jeongin says handing the exact amount of money to pay for both his and Seungmin’s drinks. Woojin moves to the coffee machines and begins working.

 

“Oh yeah, Jeongin?” he asks suddenly remembering his earlier conversation with Minho.

 

“Hm?” the youngest made a noise of acknowledgement while actively trying to avoid his boyfriend poking at him and calling him cute.

 

“If I start babysitting again, would you and your family endorse me? Like if i made posters would I able to put some sort of good review?”

 

“Like what? ‘Would recommend! Really good at hugs, but really bad at video games! Overall 8/10!’” he speaks in a mock sales-person voice.

 

“I resent that immensely. I just let you win because you were twelve and also a crybaby,” Woojin fires back, putting the finishing touches on Seungmin’s iced tea drink.

 

“That’s the thing you resent? Not the whole 8/10 rating you were given?” Seungmin asks, taking his drink from the man behind the counter.

 

“No,” he begins making Jeongin’s chocolate mocha, “that’s completely valid. I was fifteen and also kind of just in it for the money, at first.”

 

“Yeah, and then you realized that I was cool, so you stuck around,” Jeongin says, impressed with himself.

 

“Sure, Innie, that’s why I stuck around. Not because of the free video games I got to play or the food that I got to eat. Here’s your coffee.”

 

“I am hurt!”

 

“Don’t worry, I still think you’re cool,” Seungmin offers.

 

“Even worse!” Jeongin acts disgusted, however, anyone can see the true fondness behind the facade.

 

Felix finally makes his way out of the coat racks and stands next to Woojin. The boy’s hair is a mess, and it looks like it hasn’t been combed at all. He’s breathing heavily, and his eyes appear as if he hasn’t slept well.

 

“You guys got your orders already?” he asks to Seungmin and Jeongin.

 

“Yeah, we’re good to go. You sure you’re gonna be alright, though?” Seungmin asks, concerned.

 

“I’ll be fine! I’ll just have some coffee of my own before everyone piles in at once,” Felix didn’t convince anyone, but they said their goodbyes regardless, as they had to get to school.

 

“How was your night?” Woojin asks, going to make a coffee for the, obviously, worn out boy.

 

“It was ok, but I lost track of time with online school and ended up staying awake until, like, two in the morning,” Felix replies, looking up to what Woojin is doing. “Oh, I can make my own drink if you don’t really want to, it’s ok.”

 

“At this rate, I’m just afraid you’re going to fall over. Just go man the register, for now. It’ll be ready in a minute or two.”

 

“Woojin, you are sent by God, and I love you,” the younger walks to the register a few meters away and Woojin rolls his eyes at him. “I’m really excited for tonight, though.”

 

“What’s happening tonight?” Woojin finishes the sweet drink and hands it to Felix, who thanks him and continues.

 

“Well, first, Minho said that he would take me to dinner. And he even said that he’d pay for it! Then, he promised to take me to some big dance performance that’s happening tonight!”

 

“Wow, you’d think I’d get those things because I am not only his best friend but also his roommate. I think you’ve become his favorite,” Woojin fake pouts and nudges his young friend. “No, really, that sounds like a lot of fun. Tell me how it goes tomorrow, yeah?”

 

Felix nods excitedly at him. A group of people walk into the café, at that moment. Two of them, or three, Woojin figures, if you’re counting the baby that one of them is carrying with him. The other woman, who is a regular at the café walks up to the registers.

 

“Good morning, Nayeon. What can we make for you today?” Woojin greets her by name.

 

“Hi, Woojin,” she nods towards him. “Good morning, Felix,” she nods to the other. “I’ll have my usual and, with that, could I get a medium iced americano and a large hot chocolate?”

 

“Of course! That will be $12.43,” Woojin takes the money and counts up the change as Felix begins making the drink orders. “Jeongyeon isn’t here today?”

 

“No, she’s got theatre stuff to do down at the university,” she makes a fake annoyed face and gesture. “Apparently they’re having trouble finding a lead for their next musical.”

 

“Yikes, I hope they find someone soon,” he walks back to the machines to begin making the hot chocolate. “How are your guys’ wedding plans going?”

 

“Oh god, don’t even remind me!” she smiles and sighs. “We’re so behind on, actually, putting our plans into action. That’s half of the reason we’re here today. I brought a few of my entourage with me. The guy with the baby is Chan and the girl who looks like she wants to strangle Chan is Jimin,” Woojin looks a bit concerned at her explanation, but nods along regardless. “They’re friends, don’t get me wrong. Channie is just,” she circles her hand around to try and find the correct wording, “kind of a dumbass.”

 

Woojin laughs, “Well, good luck with that, I guess. Here are the drinks.”

 

“Thanks again, you guys!”

 

The two workers wave at her as she returns to her group.

 

“Did you get the tea, Hyung?”

 

“They didn’t order tea, Felix.”

 

“No, not like literal tea. I mean like... ‘the tea,’” he makes a face at Woojin, trying to get him to understand. He does not. “Like the gossip,” he gives up.

 

“Oh. Um, I guess? They’re wedding planning is not going too well, but other than that it seems fine.”

 

“That’s boring, I wanted some real drama,” Felix pouts.

 

“Then watch the Kardashians or something. Their lives are full of drama,” Woojin responds, promptly going back to the cash register.

 

He peers over at the table at Nayeon joined moments ago and studies the two people, that he hasn’t met, sat with her. The girl, or Jimin as Nayeon said before, has short black hair and gives off a cool vibe. She seems nice in a won’t-take-shit-from-anyone sort of way. Woojin realizes that she talks very animatedly and she reminds him of Minho when he gets over dramatic about mundane things.

 

Now, Woojin has already had his ‘gay realization period’ in life. But if he hadn’t had it before, he would have definitely had it now. The man sitting alongside the two women, Chan as Nayeon introduced him, was absolutely stunning. His dyed blonde hair is slightly curled and it looks a bit messy, but it compliments his pale skin so well that it just works. He has strong, handsome features that are so unique and beautiful to Woojin. There is also something about watching the man care for his son that is so endearing to him. It almost looks clumsy, but anyone could tell that he was trying his best and he looks at his son with such genuine worry and adoration. The man behind the counter is caught off guard by the stranger and gets flustered. Felix takes notice of this.

 

“What’s the tea, sis?” he says trying to look over Woojin’s shoulder at whatever he had been staring at.

 

“Go away, Felix,” his face flushed at being found out, he shoos the curious boy away. “The rush will start soon we should be getting set up.”

 

The man was obviously with someone, or he, at least, was straight. Cause, y’know, the baby. Woojin doesn’t want to become hung up on it. He tries to distract himself during the rush, but he always, somehow, finds his eyes drifting to the table where the trio and the baby were sitting. Now, he has never considered himself a ‘panicked gay,’ as Minho would put it, but when Chan meets his eyes for just a split second, he breaks eye contact almost immediately and curses himself for being a dumbass.

 

The breakfast rush finishes without any major problems, only a few switched orders here and there. Felix’s shift is ending, so Woojin sends him off to go put away his work uniform and change into his cold weather wear. The older wants to clean the counters again, as they had just been completely destroyed by the sheer amount of coffees that they had to make, but before he could do that, he heard the door open and a familiar voice call out to him. Woojin looks up from the mess.

 

“Huh, you actually look alive for once in your life,” he greets as Minho walks up to the counter.

 

“Yeah, and you look like you just got run over,” Minho looks at him slyly, “Oh how the turns tabled.”

 

The barista stares at him, dumbfounded, for a good ten seconds, “Yeah, I don’t even have a response for that. What are you dong here?” he changes the subject.

 

“I am here to pick up my Australian son. We’re practicing our routine and then I said I’d take him out tonight,” now that it’s said, Woojin does remember Felix telling him about that. “Y’know, you should really think about changing your wardrobe if you’re really considering the babysitting thing.”

 

“What do you mean? What’s wrong with my clothes?” he inspects them carefully. Minho laughs.

 

“No offense, but I don’t think any middle-aged mom would want their kids being taken care of by someone who is tall, looks scary without a smile, and wears black all the time.”

 

“I do not look scary,” he pouts. “Besides, Mrs. Yang hired me once. So, hah!”

 

“Mrs. Yang would hire anyone who smiles at her once, she’s too much of a sweetheart to be a credible source.”

 

“I hate when you’re right. Speaking of the Yangs, I did ask them to put out a good word for me if I did start again.”

 

Felix walks out of the coat room wearing his winter jacket, a mask, and a hat. He greets Minho and makes his way to Woojin to hug him goodbye.

 

“You really do give the best hugs, Hyung,” Felix says into Woojin’s shoulder. He laughs and squeezes him before letting him go.

 

“Don’t overwork yourselves! Be home before midnight!” the oldest, still behind the counter, calls to them as they walk out.

 

“Okay, dad!” Minho yells back, blowing a kiss at him. Woojin gags, making sure the younger sees it before he gets back to cleaning the counters.

 

“Wait, Woojin,” he heard a voice from across the café. He looks up to see Nayeon, sitting alone at the table with her laptop out. “Did you say you were looking for babysitting work?”

 

“Oh, yeah. It’s just that me and my roommate have been struggling a little financially, so I just wanted to take another smaller job to help out with that.”

 

Nayeon motions him over to her table. He checks to make sure no one would be coming in to order before heading towards where she was sitting.

 

“How young would you be willing to look after?”

 

“Well, a while ago, I took a training course for child and baby care. So, I think with enough information and instruction from the parents, I could really do any age. I’m only really looking for an evening job though, I still want to work here full-time.”

 

“I may have just the perfect fit for you,” she shuts her laptop to look at him. “You know the guy I was with before? Chan? He’s a new dad and he really needs all of the help he can get. The situation has been a bit weird and it’s just been really hard for him to try and adjust to having a new baby with him. Jimin is babysitting Yejoonie, er, the baby during the day. But she has a radio show that she runs at night, so he needs someone to look after him when she leaves. You might also have to look after his roommate too, but he’s 18 so he’ll be easier, probably.”

 

“Wow, that’s a lot to process. I’d be happy to, but I don’t want to burden him with payments. I’d feel bad, I think. But I also nee-“

 

“Me and Jimin will pay you. That was our promise to Chan as the baby’s aunts. Payment isn’t an issue,” she smiles at Woojin and passes him a blank sticky-note and a pencil. “If you give me your number or other information, I can pass it to Channie and he can get a hold of you soon.”

 

Woojin smiles, relieved, as he takes the pencil and writes down his cellphone number. He hands it back to her and thanks her for the job opportunity, hoping that he might become closer to that cute boy from earlier and also get money at the same time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!! feedback is always welcome!!


	3. “WHY DIDNT YOU WARN ME?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so sorry for being kind of MIA this past week. I had gotten really sick and had to spend a lot of time either bedridden or at the doctors. I hope this makes up for it enough and I will definitely try to upload every weekend from now on. Again I’m really sorry!

~~~~~~~~~~~~“Channie,” Jimin says, lightly bouncing a sleeping Yejoon, “I’m sure it will be perfectly fine. Don’t panic.”

 

To say that Chan is a wreck would be an understatement. The man is rushing back and forth between cleaning the kitchen, his room, the bathrooms, and even Jisung’s room. His hair remains unstyled, as it has been for this past week since he became a dad, and the bags under his eyes are quite a prominent contrast to his pale skin. He finally is able to take a breath and look to where his friend is standing. She has already put on her coat and hands the sleeping baby off to the ragged looking man. He becomes soft immediately the the moment his baby is in his arms.

 

“Look, I think you just need to trust Nayeon in her choice of babysitter. From what she’s told me, he seems like a genuine and caring guy,” she smiles at him and pulls him in for a soft hug. “I’ve gotta get going, but if you do need anything just text or call me. Alright?”

 

“Alright,” he says after a breath, beginning to rock the baby to make sure he is not woken up abruptly.

 

Jimin says a smaller goodbye to the baby and heads out the door, closing it behind her. Chan locks the door behind her, out of habit, and takes Yejoon to the couch. He places his son into the carrier placed on top of said furniture, taking the extra effort to not wake him. Tucking the baby into the small blanket, he gives him a soft kiss on the head. He picks up his phone and sees that he has received two messages, he presumes it was while he was cleaning. One being from Changbin, the other from ‘Woojin.’ He opens the latter’s message before his bandmate’s.

-

**Woojin:**

Hey

 

I am on my way to yours now

 

Do you want me to get any dinner for you?

 

Or maybe for the 18 year old i have to babysit? lol

 

**Chan:**

Oh wow, sure if it’s not too much trouble lol

 

Don’t mind it if it’s too much!

 

**Woojin:**

It’s no big deal, i haven’t eaten yet either

 

I’m heading up now!

-

Chan turns off his phone to make sure the door is unlocked and to, also, do a final look around of the apartment. Many scenarios flash in his mind about how the night will go. Due to the high anxiety, both parental and not, almost all of the made up scenes are negative. He’s only been a dad for a week, but he has already formed a connection and routine around his son. His boss, being a new dad himself, gave him the week to get adjusted to the unexpected, but not unwelcomed, arrival. He definitely would not be as comfortable as he is without the help from Jisung, Nayeon, and Jimin. Yejoon’s aunts love to spoil him and continue to buy things for the baby, despite Chan’s protest. Hell, they even bought him an evening babysitter. Who is almost at the house. Fuck.

 

Chan rushes into his small bathroom to tame his hair a little bit and fiddles around with his appearance until he deems himself as ‘presentable.’ The curly haired boy, who has now brushed said hair, attempts to put together some sort of random outfit he finds laying around in his closet, preparing a mask and hat for when he goes out for work. Just as he lays his completed outfit onto his bed, he hears a faint knock at the door. He cusses as he realizes he is still in his pajamas and will not have enough time to change before he goes to open the door. He figures leaving the guy out in the hallway for five minutes probably isn’t great for a first impression. He sucks it up and heads to the door opening it for the man, who has multiple bags of takeout on his arm, and... holy shit.

 

“Hello,” he bows to Chan, slightly, “I’m Kim Woojin. Nice to meet you,” Woojin flashed him with a smile that can only be described as heart-warming. Chan responds after a beat of staring in silence.

 

“Oh-um, hi,” the blonde rushes a bow and moves aside to let the babysitter in. “I’m Bang Chan and this,” he moves to the couch pulling up the carrier, revealing a sleeping baby face to the stranger, “is Bang Yejoon.”

 

Out of habit, due to hanging out with Nayeon so frequently this week, Chan takes the tiny baby’s arm and waves it limply. He smiles widely, showing his dimples, and talks in a higher pitched voice, “Hello, Kim Woojin-ssi!”

 

Before Chan has any immediate regrets about being an embarrassing dad, Woojin sends him the softest most caring giggle anyone can ever have the pleasure of hearing. He responds to ‘Yejoon’ in an equally soft voice, “Hello there, Yejoon.” To Chan, he adds, “Wow, he’s such a calm baby. It’s almost incredible honestly.”

 

Has someone given him an opportunity to brag? Yes. Is he about to take that opportunity with open arms? Fuck yes.

 

“I know, right? He’s one of the quietest babies I’ve ever been around. The only times he really makes noise is when he’s laughing at something or he’s hungry. He’s probably quieter than Jisung, at this point. I got really lucky, he’s such an angel,” Chan knows he’s rambling, but he continues anyway. Woojin hasn’t interrupted, nor has he shown any sign of not being interested. He also thinks that things will get very awkward very fast if he has to hold a conversation with the pretty boy beside him.

 

Out of the blue, Chan remembers that he is still in his pajamas and that his clothes are still on his bed, “Oh shoot, I should probably go get dressed and ready. Uh, you can start eating if you want. The plates and silverware are just in the kitchen, there should be some on the drying rack,” he’s calling out the directions as he makes his way into the room he now shares with Yejoon. With the door closed behind him, he takes out his phone and pulls up Nayeon’s contact.

-

**Chan:**

Nayeon

 

Why in the hell would you do this to me

 

**Nayeon:**

????

 

**Chan:**

WHY DIDNT YOU WARN ME

 

YOU SENT A LITERAL ANGEL TO COME WATCH MY KID

 

HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO ACTUALLY EXIST AROUND HIM

 

**Nayeon:**

Oh wow that’s what you meant?

 

Didn’t realize you were even capable of a gay panic

 

Kim Woojin’s impact

 

**Chan:**

this is not helpng

 

**Nayeon:**

Just talk to him?? Like a normal person??

 

**Chan:**

If I even look at him i may go blind

 

**Nayeon:**

Alexa play Wowby 3Racha

 

**Chan:**

BLOCKED

-

Despite the conversation having done nothing to give him any confidence of talking to the man about anything but his son, he still felt a bit better. He realizes that he had never actually answered Changbin’s earlier message and decided to do so.

-

**Changbin:**

Do you know of anyone named Felix by chance?

 

**Chan:**

No, sorry bud

 

Why?

-

After answering, he sets his phone down. Knowing Changbin, he probably won’t answer for a while.

 

Chan puts on the outfit left on the bed. The clothes are a little wrinkly but clean nonetheless. He leaves his outdoor things on the bed until he needs to leave. Checking the time on his phone, he exits the room. There is about an hour until he needs to leave, so he heads back into the living room to see the coffee table set with food and two plates left on the side, one plate sits near the couch with some food already on it. Woojin is still sat on the couch, and he is rocking the baby seat, humming softly. God, even his voice is god sent.

 

“Oh you’re back,” Woojin looks up at Chan. “I put out some other plates out. I just bought an assortment of food, I wasn’t really sure what you liked.”

 

“No, no, it all looks really great. Chris is hungry,” just as the words leave his mouth, he contemplates hitting himself. Why is he like this?

 

“Chris?”

 

“Ah, it’s, um, my English name. It’s become a joke, cause I... eat a lot?”

 

Woojin lets out a short, airy laugh, “Cute.” Chan laughs as well, but it sounds a bit forced and awkward. He’s sure that there is a noticeable blush on his face, but he tries to ignore it in an attempt to not worsen it.

 

“Oh, I meant to ask this before, but I never really got the chance to. Does Yejoon drink formula yet or is he still on breast milk?” Woojin asks glancing at the baby, who has now woken up and is staring, studying almost, the new face.

 

“He drinks formula now. He’s almost three months, which is weird cause I’ve really only known him for a week,” Chan answers, reaching to poke at Yejoon’s soft cheek. Upon seeing his dad, the baby smiles and reveals his gums. He lets out a happy squeak.

 

“You’re really good with him, despite it only being a week,” he looks at the soft display in front of him and smiles in a way to comfort and reassure. “His mother must be glad to have the help,” he adds and grabs his plate of food, to resume eating.

 

“She probably is,” Chan responds, too quietly for anyone to hear.

 

Over the next hour, Chan guides Woojin around baby care and where everything is located. Although Woojin was the one to request a refresher course, it didn’t seem like he needed it as desperately as he claimed he did. He is very gentle with the baby and is very reassured now that he knows music is able to calm him. Yejoon is at a stage in infancy where you don’t need to worry about much, just make sure he’s fed and changed, really. Chan informs him that the baby is not walking, nor has he started teething yet. The refresher really only took half an hour to complete, so the two men moved on to other topics of conversation, much to Chan’s chagrin.

 

“Wait, you’re only 21? God, I can’t even imagine having a kid, right now,” Woojin cringes and then laughs, continuing to try and burp the baby.

 

“I can’t say that I was, or am I guess, super prepared either. I’m a bit used to taking care of people, so it wasn’t hard to adapt. It’s just weird to think that he’s my son,” he puts emphasis on the word. “I’ve always joked around about being the ‘dad’ of my friends, but now I’m really a dad,” he pauses again and laughs. “I think Jisung still might be harder to take care of.”

 

“I can’t help but agree, Yejoon is an angel compared to literally everyone in my circle of friends. They stress me out too much, I swear I deserve some sort of vacation,” Woojin sighs and flops himself lightly back on the couch, Chan laughs and joins him.

 

He checks his clock and decides he should probably get going, seeing as he’s missed a week and should get there as early as possible. He explains this to Woojin, who is understanding as always, and goes to get his outdoor stuff from his bed. Grabbing them quickly, he rushes to the front door to put on his shoes. He says a final goodbye to both Woojin and Yejoon, who has gone back to sleeping peacefully, and heads out the door. On the way out he notices that Changbin has responded to his previous message.

-

**Chan:**

No, sorry bud

 

Why?

 

**Changbin:**

Hyunjin wants me to ask everyone

 

Apparently he made friends with someone named Felix last night but forgot to get his number

 

He wants to recruit him for the dance team

 

**Chan:**

Damn sorry to hear you’re being replaced

 

Alexa play Shoot Me

 

**Changbin:**

Fuck off uglie

 

I’ll see you at work

-

Chan rolls his eyes, but heads off nonetheless. He had expected to be nervous for the first night he’d be without his son, but he’s oddly calm. Maybe Woojin really is just an angel in disguise.

 

A few hours pass and Woojin is busying himself with cleaning the kitchen and making a bottle for when Yejoon gets hungry again. He doesn’t think the apartment is dirty, but he also doesn’t feel comfortable using a lot of their amenities. So he does what he would usually do at work, tidying. From putting away dishes and folding blankets in the living room, Woojin finds anything out of place and he fixes it. He can’t believe how good Yejoon has been this entire night either. The only times he had really gotten upset was when he was hungry, tired, or was in need of a diaper change. Chan and his girlfriend really lucked out with their first baby, huh. Come to think of it, Woojin hasn’t heard any news of meeting her. Maybe he should ask about it when Chan returns from work?

 

“I smell food!” a boy, presumably Chan’s roommate, busts through the door scaring Woojin and also waking up the baby. “Oh shit, sorry little man,” he rushes toward the baby desperately cooing and making funny faces.

 

“There’s a pla-“

 

“OH JESUS CHR-“ Jisung stops mid sentence as he is, quite literally, scared off of his seat, flailing dramatically on the floor. In a small panic, Woojin apologizes profusely, helps the boy off the floor, and picks up the baby. He rocks Yejoon gently and hums a random tune plucked from his mind.

 

“Sorry for scaring you. I’m Woojin,” he’s whispering as to not disturb the baby any more than he has. “I ordered take-out, if you want some. It’s in the fridge.”

 

“Oh,” he has a realization moment, his mouth looking like the noise he is making, “you’re the babysitter! Now this makes sense, ok,” he heads to the fridge. “I thought you were some burglar who just really likes kids. That or I had just walked into the wrong apartment again.”

 

“Again?” he has finally calmed Yejoon out of his panic, but he continues rocking him in hopes of him falling asleep again. From the looks of it, he’s going to be up for a while.

 

“Yeah long story short, no one really locks their doors and they really should,” he monitors his food in the microwave as if he thinks it will run away if he looks anywhere else. “Thanks for the food, by the way, Hyung. Can I call you that?”

 

Woojin nods and sits on the couch holding the baby up in a sitting position against his chest. He takes a rattle from beside him and shakes it a few times to get a laugh out of the little boy, it works and he is all gummy smiles again. Jisung sits next to them with his food in hand. Woojin takes out his phone to check the time, missing the way Jisung’s eyes widen at his wallpaper.

 

“Who’s that?”

 

“Hm? Oh, it’s a photo of me and my best friend on vacation. I put it up originally to bug him, but I guess I never really thought of changing it back,” he goes through the memory in his head, smiling slightly at Minho’s overdramatic reaction. Jisung continues to stare at the background until it eventually shuts off on its own.

 

“What’s his name?” he asks, shoving a particularly big scoop of rice into his mouth.

 

“Minho?”

 

Jisung chokes on his rice and coughs trying to breathe again, catching some of the rice into his hand. Woojin rushes to pat in between his shoulder blades and to also push a glass of water towards him.

 

“Please chew your food, for the love of god,” Woojin continues to pat the boys back as he regains his breath. “They were right when they said you’d be the harder one to take care of, dear lord.”

 

“That’s not true,” he coughs, “I am a delight to,” another violent cough, “be around.”

 

Woojin rolls his eyes jokingly and goes back to tending the baby, who was laughing the entire time Jisung was having his choking fit. Yejoon was getting a bit fussy, so Woojin goes to heat up a prepared bottle for him. He comes back to see Jisung has finished his food, only choking once thankfully, and he is now playing peekaboo with a very confused Yejoon. He laughs in an exhale and takes the baby to give him his bottle.

 

“So, did you just come home from school?” Woojin asks, trying to make small talk.

 

“Yeah, I usually walk my friend home before I come back, so I end up getting home pretty late. I do get a chance to do all of my homework on the subway ride home, so I usually just come home, eat, and then sleep,” he goes through his routine, gesticulating every once in a while to make his point.

 

“Do you want to go to sleep then? I don’t mind, I’ll just be here watching the baby.”

 

“I can stay up for a little bit, we can watch movies or something while we wait for Chan to come back,” he sends a crooked, gummy smile to Woojin, who smiles back with an equally cute grin.

 

Jisung ends up falling asleep fifteen minutes into Tangled and Yejoon soon follows suit. Woojin feels crowded, yet warm. He has set down the baby beside him, in his little pillow-bed, and Jisung has ended up cuddling into Woojin as he sleeps. It’s an oddly domestic scene and Woojin decides that he doesn’t mind it and absent-mindedly watches the movie looking at the sleeping boys on either side of him every-so-often. A call from his roommate ruins the serenity a bit, but his phone was put on silence a while ago so it, luckily, did not wake anyone up. He answers the call in a soft voice.

 

“Hey, what’s up?”

 

“Hi, Hyung,” Minho calls in a suspiciously sweet voice.

 

“What did you do?” Woojin says accusingly, yet unsurprised.

 

“Yeah, about that. What’s the apartment rules on pets again?” he pauses, “Maybe on cats specifically?”


	4. Domesticity and Puns Galore!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> writers block kind of hit me hard with this one ;;
> 
> ((BIG THANK YOU TO HYUNJJINS FOR BETA READING <3))

Today is Saturday and Jisung and Chan could not be any more happy that the weekend came as quickly as it did. Chan suggested going to visit Changbin and Hyunjin at their new apartment last night after Woojin had left. Currently, the two boys are packing up any baby supplies that may be necessary for the trip. This is only Yejoon’s second outing since he has been with his dad, so Chan still feels it is necessary to bring literally everything ‘just in case.’ He packs the large diaper bag with the changing mat, spare clothes, wipes, lotion, diapers (obviously), and a plethora of toys for the baby to play with. He decides that the bag has reached its limit and begins backing more into the baby seat.

 

 

“Please tell me we’re keeping Woojin-hyung as Yejoon’s babysitter,” Jisung walks out of his room, hair fluffy from the blow dryer. “He was really good at cuddling.”

 

“That’s your qualifications? ‘Good at cuddling’?” Chan asks teasingly, over his shoulder.

 

“Okay, but you don’t understand. Dude, he was like,” the boy gesticulates to further his point, “a human teddy bear. I think he may have replaced you as number one.”

 

“I am shocked and hurt!” Chan stops packing momentarily, hoisting up Yejoon and holding him tight. “Friendship cancelled with Han Jisung. Yejoon is the only good one, now.”

 

The dramatics make the baby laugh in a little squeak as he flails his arms around, only hitting his dad twice. Jisung is laughing too, gummy smiles and all. He helps Chan pack up the baby’s bottle and any formula they happen to have left. Before they are ready to leave, Chan makes sure both of his boys have the proper clothes on for the chilly weather. He makes Jisung put on a coat and has the baby all bundled up, he looks like a little burrito. Their hands are full as they walk out the door; Chan holding the baby and his carrier, while Jisung takes the liberty of handling the diaper bag. They lock the house behind themselves and head out towards the subway station.

 

The three make it into the subway with little trouble, though Jisung’s whining of being tired would suggest otherwise. They sit down at the back where they are able to take up their own row of seats, Chan ignores the stares they get as they pass through the isles just as he always does. They are finally able to sit down, and Chan pulls the baby into his arms. He snuggles him into a deeper sleep to avoid disturbance during the half-hour trip.

 

“Oh, yeah!” Jisung says, suddenly remembering something, “I finally found a way to talk to Minho! He’s Woojin-hyung’s roommate!” he’s whisper yelling after being a bit too loud, at first.

 

“Sungie, please don’t tell me you stalked this guy. Nayeon told me to not scare him off and I really don’t thi-“

 

“I didn’t, this time! Swear to god!” he holds his hands up in innocence. “He was in his phone wallpaper and I asked about it. He said that it was his roommate, Minho, and that was it. I was very chill about it, honestly!” he lied.

 

“Mhm,” Chan hummed sarcastically, “so you passed out, I take it?”

 

“Choked on food.”

 

“Ah, yes, very chill Jisung. So cool. Minho is quaking,” Chan begins rocking slightly as the movements of the subway get bumpier. His goal is to keep Yejoon sleeping, but he grabs a pacifier from the bag, just in case.

 

“I don’t even know why I’m so hung up over him, to be honest,” Jisung admits. He leans his head on Chan’s shoulder and sighs, “We talked once. He probably doesn’t even remember me.”

 

The blonde boy leans his head on the other’s, comfortingly. Jisung has always been one to open his heart quickly, and more often then not he gets hurt because of this. To say Chan is protective of his younger friend is an immense understatement because as much as Jisung has a lot of love to give; society has a lot of hate to consume that.

 

“Do you think you’ll start dating again?” The boy on his shoulder brings him out of his thoughts, and he is taken aback for a second.

 

“I think,” he pauses to look at the baby in his arms, “he will always come first. I don’t want to think I could even prioritize a relationship, while I have him.”

 

“What if he feels bad about it when he gets older?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Like in the future, what if he feels bad for being the reason his dad hasn’t gotten laid in fifteen years,” Jisung laughs as Chan threatens to hit him.

 

“I’m sure we’ll make it through,” he rolls his eyes. Jisung’s eyelids are growing heavy, so Chan stops talking to let him take a nap until they get to their stop.

 

Yejoon is awake, taking in his surroundings. He has his pacifier in, however, he appears very uncomfortable as to where he is. Chan, being the embarrassing dad he is, finds this funny and reaches for his phone to take a photo. He ends up taking 5 before deciding that he has the perfect one. He sends it to Woojin, as the other had asked for cute pictures last night.

-

**Chan:**

[image attached]

 

he doesn’t like the subway much 😂

-

He closes his phone and puts it back into his pocket. Now grabbing the baby, being careful of the sleeping boy on his left. He takes one of the quieter toys from the bag to entertain his son, and while it did work, Chan also finds himself getting sleepy. He rubs his eyes and hopes that Changbin and Hyunjin have tea to wake him up.

 

It takes about ten minutes for them to reach their stop and another fifteen to walk to the apartment building, stopping along the way for an old lady to compliment Yejoon and his ‘handsome father.’ Finally, they are able to make it to their friends’ door, only slightly out of breath. Hyunjin opens the door for them.

 

“Hwang Hyunjin, is that a lip piercing?” Jisung asks, being louder than he probably thinks he is.

 

“Yeah,” the tall boy pouts, excitedly showing it off. “I got it earlier today. Binnie got his eyebrow re-done, too.”

 

“You emo gays,” Jisung teases, stepping into the house. He gives Hyunjin a tight hug, wrapping his hands around his neck and standing on his toes slightly. Chan takes the time to set up all of the baby equipment and makes Yejoon a quick bottle, as he had been getting fussy on the way over. Changbin walks out of what Chan assumes is the bedroom. He rushes to the baby carrier.

 

“My son!” he peers to look at the baby, smiling and gasping like an aunt.

 

“Incorrect,” the blonde boy shouts from the kitchen, finishing up making the bottle. “My son, but your nephew.” Yejoon begins to get really fussy and lets out a loud cry. Changbin shushes him and promises that it will be okay, Hyunjin peers over at the baby with the look of panic on his face.

 

“Hyung, help! He’s crying. What do we do?” he keeps looking from the baby to his dad standing in the kitchen.

 

“It’s ok, he’s just hungry is all,” Chan reassures. “Do you want to feed him?”

 

“Um... no, it's okay.”

 

“I do!” Changbin essentially yelled, looking excited.

 

Hyunjin and Changbin say simultaneously, two opposite reactions. He gives Hyunjin a patient, understanding look and heads over to where Changbin is seated with the baby. He instructs the boy on how to properly feed the baby, summoning Hyunjin to come closer. He has been standing a bit too awkwardly for Chan’s liking.

 

“I’m okay, hyung, really,” he waves his hand and shakes his head.

 

“You’re not going to break him, Jinnie. Just come sit a little closer, at least.”

 

He listens and comes closer, but still looks cautious at his boyfriend holding the child. Chan engulfs him in a hug and the two end up falling onto the floor, laughing as they crash down. Jisung, being himself, jumps onto the hug as well. It’s a bit hard to breathe, but Chan decides he doesn’t mind.

 

Moments later and they’re all back on the couch. Hyunjin still is a bit stiff around the baby, but he has allowed for Yejoon to hold his finger. Chan decides to call this a win for the day. The taller boy is sat behind his boyfriend, cuddling into him. Changbin is still playing with the baby, making faces while Yejoon laughs and claps at the funny expressions. Jisung has cuddled himself into Chan’s back and the entire scene is very serene. It’s like a breath of fresh air compared to the chaotic week he’s had.

 

“Are we still gonna be able to perform, or do you think you need a break?” Changbin asks, looking slightly concerned.

 

“Of course we’re still going to perform,” Chan replies as if he has just heard the most outlandish thing in the world. “I have a baby sitter now and he-“

 

“Who is very cuddly, ten out of ten,” Jisung cuts in. Chan just stares at him for a moment.

 

“-and he is able to watch him in the evenings.”

 

“Nice!” he celebrates by holding one of the baby’s hands in the air and cheering quietly.

 

“Wait, Hyunjin,” Jisung calls, “did you still want to DJ for us at our gigs?

 

“I mean, sure. If I wouldn’t be too much trouble, I could DJ.”

 

Jisung begins to chant ‘4Racha’ over and over again, getting slightly louder each time.

 

“But 4Racha doesn’t sound good anymore,” Hyunjin giggles. “Let’s just make it 3Racha, featuring DJ Hwang.”

 

“4Cester!” Jisung shouts, earning him confused glances. “Like Worcester sauce, but four. 4Cester.”

 

“No, Jisung oh my god. Babe, please tell your bandmate that his idea is dumb.”

 

“I thought I was your best friend,” Jisung fakes a betrayed look. “Now I’m just your boyfriend’s bandmate?”

 

“I disowned you after that god-awful pun,” Hyunjin lets out a laugh.

 

“Sorry, Sung, but he’s right,” Changbin cuts in. “We should call it 4Seradish.” There is a beat of silence.

 

“Never mind you’re both dead to me. Chan-hyung is the only good one. I can’t believe I lost a best friend and a boyfriend in one day.”

 

At this point, Chan has kind of tuned the chaos out, focusing instead on Yejoon. He had taken him from Changbin at some point during their conversation and had just been bouncing him up and down on the floor. He feels a buzzing from his pocket and sits his son down to look at whatever message he had received.

-

**Woojin:**

oh no! :((

 

I hope he’s a happy boy when he’s off the train!

-

Chan smiles and leans down to Yejoon’s level, opening the phone camera. He takes a selfie, smiling big at the camera as Yejoon laughs at his dad’s face, putting his tiny hand on his cheek. The photo is very cute.

-

**Chan:**

[image attached]

 

BIG SMILES 😁

 

**Woojin:**

two cuties for the price of one!!

 

so glad you two are happy, smiles from over here as well 😄😄

-

Chan knows he’s smiling like an idiot, but he doesn’t really care. Or rather he didn’t until...

 

“Whipped!” Jisung calls out from the couch, where he is now sprawled out across the two boyfriends.

 

“Chan’s whipped for someone? Spill who it is,” Changbin becomes very interested.

 

“I’ll bet you he’s texting Woojin. You guys should have seen him last night when he came back from work, he was so awkward and blushy. Woojin-hyung was asking about which days he needs to come in to babysit and Channie-hyung was bright red. Bob the Tomato had his job stolen,” the young boy describes in more detail than Chan would have liked to have been shared.

 

“He’s the babysitter?” Hyunjin perks up, “Hyung, how scandalous!”

 

Changbin laughs loudly at the teasing and Chan tries his best to muster an annoyed face, but his beet red complexion gives himself away too easily. He ends up just giving them an eye roll and brushing it off.

 

He can’t be ‘whipped’ for Woojin. As he said before, he’s too busy for a relationship right now...

 

Right?


	5. Changing into Something I Just Can’t Ignore

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated to my cat, because I miss her a lot <3  
> ~  
> Huge thanks again to my co-creator, Hyunjjins, for beta reading! ILYSM!!

“-and then the guy just decides to sit down... at their fucking table,” Minho recalls the events of this afternoon, attempting to hold his face still as he applies makeup. This is proven difficult as he gesticulates vividly along with the story. “Like, hello? They’re on a date? Leave them alone you goddamn creep.”

 

Woojin makes a noise in agreement, trying his best to match Minho’s tone as he was not paying much attention to his roommate’s fifth rant this evening. He, instead, focuses his attention on the three cats currently inhabiting their apartment.

 

Soonie, Doongie, and Dori originally belonged to Minho’s cousin, but her new boyfriend is alarmingly allergic to animal fur. Being the cat lover that he is, Minho eagerly took the three angels off of her hands. Luckily enough, their apartment building does not have any strict rules against animals, so the pair of roommates were able to keep them. It has been a few days since the cats have entered his life, but Woojin has to admit that the animals are one of the tamer additions to his life, in recent times. They have been rather self-sufficient and don’t tend to fight with each other unless food is involved. Soonie, in particular, has hit a major soft spot in Woojin’s heart. The big orange cat is a massive cuddler and absolutely loves getting attention from anyone, and he is very happy to give her what she wants. She does also like laying on top of laptops, but he can deal with not working until she moves. Everyone has their flaws after all.

 

“You aren’t listening at all, are you?” Minho exits the bathroom, eye makeup shimmering in the living room lighting.

 

“Zoned out after the story about the kid who left you a twenty-dollar tip,” Woojin replies unashamedly. His roommate shoves him to one side of the couch, sitting down to lean on his side. The cats realize that Minho has returned to the couch and they all come quickly to get their spot on the boy.

 

“You do realize your entire outfit is black right?”

 

“We have lint rollers,” he brushes the warning off, opting instead to attempt to pet all three cats at once.

 

“Wait, you’re going to a concert,” Woojin says in realization. Minho gives him a look of obviousness, silently asking him to explain further. “Why’d you put on glitter? Won’t it be too dark to see it?”

 

“I never get to bust out my glitters, let me live. Besides, the show is just a small group performance in a club, so there is bound to be lights at some point,” he says matter-of-factly, showing off his intricate makeup job. The younger gets a text from Felix to tell him that he was is close to their apartment. He looks over Minho’s shoulder to see a not-so-flattering photo of his roommate littered with hearts, no doubt edited by Felix, himself. The boy in the photos responds back with a threat, although the message is nullified by the amused look on his face.

 

“He really looks up to you, you know? At work he’s speaking more fluently with everyone. He’s gotten more confident, thanks to your tutoring. You’ve worked really well with him.” Woojin smiles at the boy leaning on him with a look that can only be described as a ‘proud father.’ Minho looks at him for a second and exhales in amusement.

 

“Thanks, hyung,” he pauses for a moment, “Y’know, he’s always reminded me of myself when I was in that point of my life. Scared, almost abandoned, unloved,” he looks away and sighs. “I want to be, to him, what I needed back then. His situation is probably even worse than mine. I mean, he moved to a completely different country. He’s learning a different language and trying to adjust to his new life. That shit’s scary for a teenager who’s just out of the closet. You don’t know who to trust.”

 

Subconsciously, Woojin’s eyes start to wander around their apartment living room. They land their focus on the small bookshelf in the corner. More specifically, his eyes are drawn to what stands on top of it. Three separate picture frames are lined up on the top. The first is of Woojin and his grandmother, in the middle stands a selfie of the boys from this past summer along with Felix, Jeongin and Seungmin. The final frame portrays Minho’s graduation; he stands in the middle of two figures, their faces scratched out. A broken memory. He lays his head comfortingly into the other boy’s and gives a sad, understanding smile, pushing away the memory of that day for his friend.

 

“Still, I hope you know how much easier you’re making his life. He won’t shut up about your dance routine and how excited he is to perform it.”

 

“Oh, believe me, I know more than anyone,” Minho smiles wide. “We’re practising almost every day, you’d think he’d get sick of it. Where does he get his energy?”

 

“Well, he does work at a café. So, my guess is coffee?”

 

“Ah,” he gives a teasing look, focusing back on the cats, “so it’s all your fault then?”

 

“Guess so,” Woojin shrugs. They enjoy the silence that settles over them for a minute, listening to the cats purring as they get their ears scratched. Tranquillity at its finest. The older allows for his eyes to close for a second, putting all of his focus on the warm kitten sitting in his lap and his best friend leaning at his side.

 

Minho eventually receives another text from Felix, saying that he’s finally made it to their apartment. The boy shoots himself off the couch and disturbs the cats, as they audibly express their distaste. He stretches once he is completely upright and heads out the door to meet the youngest in the lobby. Woojin gets up, as well, and looks out the window into the parking lot.

 

From what he is able to make out in the sunset’s lighting, he can see Felix leaning over to hug the person driving him. He recognizes the driver as one of the sons in Felix’s host family. The oldest one—if Woojin remembers correctly. The boy hops out of the passenger’s side and energetically waves as the older drives off. He runs inside, arms extended. The boy looking out the window assumes he’s met up with Minho and that they’d be back up soon. He turns around to find the two older cats cuddling their youngest on the couch where he and Minho were sitting before. Deciding not to disturb their peace, Woojin opts for sitting on the floor and scrolling through this phone until Minho comes back with Felix in tow. It isn’t long before he hears the door slam open.

 

“Ok here’s what we’re gonna do,” Minho enters first and gestures to where Woojin is on the floor. “You’re going to sit over there, and I’m going to grab all of my supplies,” he marches off to the bathroom. Felix does as he is told, greeting the oldest with a hug.

 

“What’d you do?”

 

“Some sort of makeup crime I guess,” Felix adjusts his hair and looks unsure of himself. Minho comes to join them, a bag in one hand and wipes in the other.

 

“I told you, last time was the absolute last straw. I’m not allowing you to cover your freckles anymore, they are too unique and adorable to be covered up,” he starts fiercely scrubbing the makeup off of the youngest, who is making faces of discomfort at the harshness. “You’ll thank me later when we see that one ‘cute boy’ from the other night,” he makes air quotes.

 

“Quit it, he was just being nice,” Felix goes red. “He showed me pictures of his boyfriend and him, and they were so cute! I’m not about to be a home wrecker. Besides, what’s the likelihood of us actually seeing each other again?”

 

“No, you’re right,” Minho says in a tone that suggests teasing will happen soon. “It’s not like I see him at dance competitions all the time or anything. Poor Felix, will never see Prince Hyunjin again. Especially not during the dance showcase in a month,” he goes a bit overboard with dramatics and sarcasm, causing Felix’s embarrassment to increase. “Too bad, you’ll never get to make up your awkward attempts at conversing with a cute boy.”

 

“Hyung, please,” Felix whines overdramatically, covering his face for a second. Woojin looks at them both for some sort of explanation.

 

“Go ahead, Felix,” he takes the boy’s face back and takes some eye shadow from his bag. “Tell Woojin what happened when Hyunjin went to get some water. What was that smooth line you told him again?”

 

“...Hydrate don’t die-drate,” Felix mumbles after a sigh, laughing a bit at his own stupidity. “Is public humiliation the punishment for me covering up my freckles?”

 

“Absolutely,” the older says, letting his upset facade slip before diving back into his makeup bag. “I don’t understand why you would even think of covering them up! I mean they are just so-“

 

Minho continues to ramble on about Felix’s freckles, but Woojin hears his phone ringing and moves away from the two in the living room to answer. He sits on his bed and reads that the person calling was... Chan? He answers.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Hey, Woojin,” Chan sounds a bit worn out, and there is also faint sounds of baby cries in the background. “Listen, I’m sorry to have to ask you to come over on a weekend. I know we had agreed on weekdays only, but I forgot that we had plans tonight and can’t really bring Yejoon along. It’s ok if you can’t but-“

 

“No, no, it’s all good with me,” Woojin laughs softly at the man’s panicked tone coming through the phone, “I didn’t have plans tonight, so this might actually be good for me. I’ll be over in half-an-hour tops.”

 

“Oh my god, thank you so much. I really owe you for this one,” a loud crash is heard in the background of the phone call. “Oh shit, okay I gotta go. I’ll see you soon. Love you!”

 

Before either man can process what has just happened, Chan hangs up to go fix whatever made that crashing sound. Woojin stands frozen for a minute before he goes a bit flush at the last words spoken to him.

 

He was just in a rush, he didn’t actually mean it. Calm down, Woojin. You’re making a fuss about nothing, again.

 

He takes a minute to compose himself, as best he can, before walking back into the living room to see the two dancers, still sitting on the floor. Someone must have requested a break because Felix’s makeup job is only half done.

 

“I thought she only had two cats?”

 

“No, Dori was adopted like a month ago,” Minho pauses, looking offended. “I posted about it on Instagram?”

 

“Oh, um... Woojin-hyung! You’re back!” Felix exclaims, totally not changing the subject to avoid Minho’s parental wrath.

 

“Why the red face, hyung?” the cat-dad asks, with a shit-eating grin suggesting he knew the exact reason. “Who was calling?”

 

“None of your business,” he responds, trying to duck out as soon as he can. He could feel himself becoming the victim of teasing, as every sentence of this conversation is spoken.

 

“I knew it! You were talking to the DILF,” he points an accusatory finger. He turns to the confused Aussie boy next to him, “He’s started babysitting for this one guy, and every night he comes home, he’s a blushing mess. His coverup is always ‘it’s none of your business,’” he mocks the last part in a higher, less intelligible tone.

 

“Maybe that’s because you refuse to call him anything except ‘the DILF,’” Woojin retorts.

 

“Firstly, I don’t know his name,” he holds up one finger. “And secondly,” he adds another, “am I wrong, though?”

 

“How would you even-“

 

“I see the selfies he sends,” an immediate response to a question that hadn’t even been fully formed.

 

“Jesus Christ, stop stealing my phone.”

 

“Get a better password!” both men are fake taunting each other, sticking their tongues out when they’re done speaking.

 

“It’s okay, Minho-hyung is just jealous he doesn’t get to see a hot guy whenever he goes to work,” Felix speaks up, earning a glare from the other boy on the floor.

 

He shrugs, taunting to get a reaction out of Minho. It works and the younger is forced, yet again, to hold his head still and endure the second half of his makeover.

 

“As much fun as this conversation is,” Woojin says, voice dripping in sarcasm, “I’ve been called to babysitting duty.”

 

He finds his bag hanging on the back of a stray lounge chair, sitting in the patch of space near the kitchen: deemed ‘the dining room.’ He debates whether wearing a coat would be necessary for the day. Eventually, he reasons that their apartment room is typically the same temperature as the outside and, based on that knowledge, decides that a jacket will not be needed for the short trip over. Grabbing the bag and slinging it over himself, he heads out the door.

 

“I’m heading out,” he directs his voice back into the apartment. “Don’t forget to feed the cats before you go!”

 

“Bye, hyung, have fun with the baby!” Felix shouts.

 

“Have fun with the daddy, too!” Minho adds. The last thing Woojin hears before locking the door behind him is the sound of his friends laughing at his misery, but he didn’t expect anything else from them.

 

Walking outside, the man immediately regrets his faith in his own reasoning. It turns out that three bodies, plus three cats, tend to warm up a small room, significantly, when all combined together. He holds his arms close together, in an attempt to keep as much body heat as possible. The streets are quite full for what one would expect on a Sunday evening, but he’s used to living in the city and has learned how to ignore the crowds of people. He stares down at his shoes, avoiding looking up as much as possible. Woojin continues like this to get through the anxiety of being too crowded until he is finally able to relax once set into a seat on the train.

 

The ride takes a bit longer than expected and he actually arrived a bit later than he intended. He arrives at the apartment door and unlocks it, using the spare key that Chan had given to him the last time he was here. Opening the door, he first sees the baby carrier being rocked slowly back and forth as the baby inside wails. Secondly, he sees Jisung on the floor rocking said carrier, dark circles around his eyes. Woojin puts his bag down near the door and goes to assess the situation. The teenager seems to have fallen asleep sitting up, so Woojin walks up to him and taps him on the shoulder, telling him to take a nap on the couch. He does so, proving himself as the easier problem, this time.

 

Yejoon continues to scream at nothing and Woojin scoops him up into his arms, shushing him. He bounces the baby lightly and walks in circles around the small apartment space. Thankfully, he seems to calm down to the point where he is no longer shrieking. However, the baby is still crying out for something.

 

“Oh no, what’s the matter?” Woojin asks in a soft voice. He’s not expecting the baby to answer, but he asks in an attempt to calm him.

 

“Woojin, you’re here, thank god!” Chan enters the room and lets out a sigh of relief. “Poor guy has started teething,” the man laughs to himself. “I knew his angelic phase wouldn’t last forever, but I didn’t think it would end as soon as it arrived. You okay?”

 

Woojin could feel his eyes grow comically wider as Bang Chan came into the room. The man is dressed up in an outfit that is complemented perfectly by his brightly dyed hair, now styled in a side part. On top of this, he is wearing a crop top that gives just enough of his stomach away to prove how toned he is. Is he okay? Not in the slightest.

 

Neither is Yejoon, apparently. As Woojin is gawking at the baby’s hot dad, he has also stopped rocking the child in his arms. This causes him to get frustrated and he starts to wiggle himself out of the man’s grip. The babysitter panics for a second before Chan takes the young boy into his own arms. Yejoon does not take well to this sudden shift and he lets out a loud shriek directed towards his dad.

 

“Ah, Yejoonie,” he pouts at the baby and holds him closer, “Appa doesn’t like it when you scream at him. It hurts his head. Your Appa is an old man, he’ll go deaf if you keep yelling at him like this, okay?” he speaks softly to the baby.

 

Woojin goes soft at the fatherly display in front of him. He coos softly, earning a smile from the man holding the baby, who seems to have calmed down too, merely, having a quivering lip. He seems to be a few minutes away from falling asleep, as he had missed his scheduled nap time, earlier. Chan hands him off to the other and goes to wake up the boy napping on the couch.

 

“You’ve gotta go get ready, ‘Sung,” he whispers softly. “We’re leaving in a bit, okay?”

 

The boy slumps off the couch and enters his room, closing the door behind him. There is a beat of silence before a loud crash, making both of the older men flinch. A small ‘I’m okay’ follows the noise a few seconds later.

 

“What happened to him?” Woojin turns to Chan, still speaking at a low volume to not disturb the child, who is now peacefully drifting off to sleep.

 

“Yejoon had a bad night,” he replies while moving about the apartment to gather things before they leave. “He’ll wake up by the time the show starts.”

 

Woojin offers whatever help he can, while simultaneously holding the baby. He helps gather their things at the front door and grabs both of their coats from the rack, handing one to Chan.

 

“You seem pretty alright, though, for having been up all night with a baby.”

 

“Yeah?” he asks. “I guess I’m kind of used to it.”

 

The other sends him a concerned look, the blonde looks away, not wanting to get scolded about his sleeping habits today.

 

“What time are you two coming back tonight?”

 

“Probably around eleven.”

 

“Will you try to get some sleep?”

 

“I don’t know, Woojin. I have this thing and... sleep doesn’t really come easily to me,” he admits.

 

“Do you want me to pick up some melatonin tablets for you?”

 

Woojin surprises himself when that sentence leaves his lips. He had no direct experience with insomnia, so why is he trying to help Chan through his? What help could he give?

 

“I’m okay, but thank you for the concern, Woojin,” Chan shot him a warm and genuine smile.

 

Oh, maybe that’s why Woojin wants to help him. Seeing Chan like this made him happy, himself. He wants to help Chan through this because he wants to see the man be happy, he wants to see him smile. They’ve only known each other for a few days really, but Woojin can’t help but feel a connection with the other man. He’s such a warm, caring person. How could you not be drawn to him? How could you not fall for him?

 

Wait...

 

Jisung comes out of his bedroom, dressed up similarly, in color scheme, to Chan. He walks over to where the others are standing and leans on Woojin’s arm, groaning dramatically about being tired.

 

“C’mon, Ji, we have to get going before we’re officially late,” the answer he gets is another dramatic groan from Woojin’s right arm. “I promise, you can nap on the ride over and by the time the show starts, you’ll be wide awake!”

 

Jisung finally obliges, although still very sluggish. He needs help getting on his coat, and Chan helps him properly get into his shoes.

 

_This is disgustingly domestic, but I kind of like it. No, wait, Woojin you can’t have those thoughts._ “You guys are seeing a show?” he says to escape his thoughts.

 

“Oh, uh... I guess, kind of?” Chan answers, totally inconspicuously. He examines the coat rack, “Woojin where’s your jacket?”

 

“I was in a rush,” he shrugs, continuing to sway with Yejoon, who is now in dreamland. Chan sighs and walks quickly into his bedroom, grabbing something and then coming back out. He hangs the heavy sweatshirt on the coatrack.

 

“Please wear this on your way home, it’s really cold out there,” he brushes his hand against Woojin’s shoulder smiling at him again with that same adoration in his eyes. “Ah, shit. Okay, we really need to go now. I’ll see you later!”

 

Woojin waves at the two leaving keeping up the smile even when the door is closed and locked. He looks at the sweatshirt hanging beside him and feels his heart skip a beat as he remembers the words said to him just a minute ago. He peers at the baby, still fast asleep, and decides to tuck him into his crib. He does so, giving him a quick kiss on the forehead out of instinct. Heading back into the living room, those previous delusions hit him again. He reminds himself:

 

You’re not apart of this life, Woojin. You’re just the babysitter trying to interfere in this kid’s life. Why are you so hung up on the ‘domesticity’ of this situation? Is it because you want kids? Are you jealous of Chan? No, neither of those sound quite right, do they? Are you...

 

“Shit,” he says this out loud. Allowing himself to sink down, curling into himself.

 

_Are you catching feelings for a taken man, Woojin?_


	6. Belong

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi hi everyone, I've been gone for quite a bit haven't I?? sorry about that... between finishing up the school year and juggling a busy work schedule, I haven't been able to put a lot of time aside for writing :((  
> I SWEAR I WILL SEE THIS FIC OUT TO THE END (and so will my co-author lmao): updates will probably appear sporadically from now on and I'm so sorry that that's how it has to be... i can guarantee the next chapter will be out in less than three months lol  
> ______  
> again i'm sorry that this is incredibly late and that it might seem a bit lame ;;;  
> but also please go send love to Hyunjjins, he's helped me so much and has inspired me to write so much i love him so much  
> thank you all for waiting <3  
> -hans_jisquirrel

It is a quarter to eleven when Yejoon finally drifts off to sleep. Woojin sits on the couch, surrounded by a plethora of toys and bottles for the infant. As quiet lullabies play through his phone’s outdated speaker, he contemplates falling asleep with the young boy. However, there is one thing that keeps him from doing so. The thoughts of this evening’s certain  _ discovery _ keeps arising in his mind.

He tries to distract himself by taking in the surroundings of the room, but this only seems to make it worse. Woojin can’t find a perfect way to describe it without saying that everything in the apartment space is just so…  _ Chan. _ Just in the living room alone he could see the man’s influence on the place. His laptop rested on the coffee table in front of him, covered in anime stickers that were slightly peeled off, and to either side of it sat a small USB Keyboard and liquid ibuprofen along with a bottle’s nipple. Woojin will not admit it to himself yet, but he finds these items endearing. The man’s two passions in life sat together in a messy harmony. He looks to the sleeping baby currently sat in his arms and these thoughts immediately crash and burn. The guilty feeling returns to his gut and he opts to set Yejoon into his crib for the night.

He rises to his feet carefully and walks into Chan’s room, trying not to be too quick in his actions, as to not wake the baby, but also to be quick enough to avoid prying into this man’s life further. Once he places the boy into the crib, he takes a pause. Normally after tucking him in, Woojin would give him a small kiss on the forehead, as he has seen Chan do many times before. But this time, he didn’t.  _ Your feelings shouldn’t interfere with your job, Woojin. _ He looked at the sleeping child and walked out of the room, the crushing guilt still residing within him. He sits back on the couch and curls into himself a bit, closing his eyes in a sad attempt to fool himself into falling asleep.

_ You’re meddling in a place you don’t belong.  _

He opens his eyes and cursed himself internally. He doesn’t have feelings for him. It’s only a minor attraction. _ I can’t burden them with that. _

He says this in a desperate attempt to get the thoughts to stop. He can’t catch feelings this quickly, it’s only been a few weeks. He’s probably just tired. Maybe he just needs some coffee!

He gets up from his makeshift ‘couch bed,’ which was really just a baby cushion acting as a pillow and a few loose blankets. Picking up a few stray toys along the way, he finds himself in the kitchen. Now, being a barista-made him extremely picky with how he likes his coffee. Usually, he won’t accept any less than a tall, half-caff, soy latte at 120 degrees, but tonight is an exception. He takes the generic Keurig brand coffee pod and plops it into the dying machine after it finishes preheating, not even bothering to grab cream and sugar.

_ You’ve taken enough from them as it is, haven’t  _ _ you? _

Taking the mug of hot liquid back to his made-up spot on the couch, he fiddles a bit with the handle before drinking. It burns his tongue on the first sip, but he can’t find himself caring all too much. The taste was far too bitter for him, yet he found himself sipping on it like it was a life source.

He has just about finished his coffee as he hears the keys unlocking the front door. The door is swung open lightly as Jisung wobbles into the kitchen area, leaning against the counter to stay upright. He looks slightly more dishevelled from when he had left the house earlier, and definitely more worn out. Woojin abandons his coffee to help the boy get into bed. As he approaches him, he is immediately drawn into a loose hug. He reciprocated briefly, the younger probably used all of his energy at the concert. Woojin wonders who they went out to see but decides to ask about it another day. Right now, he focuses on getting Jisung to sleep.

“Here, I’ll take your jacket to the rack. Will you be able to take your shoes off without falling over?” he says it in a semi-humorous tone, but it was a genuine concern for the younger. Thankfully, he nods, eyes drooping a bit as he leans down to untie his sneakers.

As promised, Woojin takes the jacket that was set loosely on the counter and places it on one of the free hooks by the door. As he walks by, he glimpses in the cracked open door to see Chan outside talking to someone. He isn’t able to get a good look at what she looks like, but they are talking very close.  _ See, he’s got someone already. You’re going to ruin something.  _ He tears his eyes away, maybe a bit too quickly. Moving back to where Jisung is seated on the floor.

He hoists the boy up, making sure to support him as he stands. The younger clings onto him, resting his head on his arm as they slowly make their way into his room. To say the room is a mess would be a massive understatement, but Woojin tries his best to avoid stepping on the clutter. Eventually, they stumble to the foot of the bed, where he sits the other down. He flops down onto his pillow almost too dramatically. He looks at Woojin and opens his arms, inviting him to come down into the small bed with him. They both wouldn’t be able to fit on the bed together, but he still finds the gesture sweet.

“Sorry, ‘Sungie,” the arms lower themselves, “I’m leaving once Chan comes in.”

“Is he still talking to Jihyo-noona?” he yawns and rubs his eyes, allowing them to close.  _ So that’s her name, huh? _

“Yes, I think so,” is all he replies. “Goodnight, I’ll see you next week.”

“G’night, get home safely. ’s dark out,” his words trail off by the end of his sentence. Woojin takes that as his cue to leave. He walks out slowly, again trying to avoid any noisy clutter on the floor. It takes him a minute to finally get back out into the small living room area, but he gets there without waking anyone in the apartment up. He turns his head to the front door and sees Chan standing half inside and half outside the frame. He’s still whispering to the girl outside. While Woojin doesn’t catch most of the words that were said, he does make out three of them for sure.

_ “...Goodnight, love you.” _

_ Well that proves it doesn’t it? He has someone and they seem happy. Who are you to try and ruin that, Kim Woojin? _

The man at the door finally closes it fully and turns around to face him, jumping a little in shock, “Oh god, you scared me a little,” he laughs softly after he catches himself, pulling Woojin out of his thoughts.

“Sorry about that, I was just getting Jisung into bed,” he says, trying to convince the blonde that he wasn’t creeping on his conversation with his girlfriend. Chan flashes him a smile, and he tells himself that it didn’t affect him at all.

“Yejoon wasn’t any trouble for you, was he?” he asks glancing at his room, where the baby is still sleeping soundly, “Again I’m so sorry for calling you over on such short notice, I jus-”

“No, no. Everything was ok, really,” he says to reassure him. It’s a partial lie, as Yejoon had been pretty crabby all evening but Woojin didn’t blame him, the poor baby was teething after all. “I should probably start heading home now, it’s kind of late.”

_ Avoiding the situation, as always. _

He turns away, annoyed at himself and the thoughts that are coming to him, and goes to grab his bag. He doesn’t see Chan’s reaction, but he hopes that his emotions aren’t as external as they are internal. He grabs his shoes from the hallway and puts them on as quickly as he can.

“Oh, wait before you leave,” Chan pulls him out of his headspace for the nth time today. He looks Woojin in the eyes and holds up a fluffy looking sweatshirt for him. “It’s still really cold out there.”

Woojin takes the sweatshirt from the shorter boy, letting his hands linger for just a moment longer than necessary. His heart is doing somersaults as he finally is able to look at him instead of avoiding his gaze. His eyes, instead of a bitter feeling as he had expected, is a major comfort to Woojin. The blonde focusing on nothing else but him, as if he were the centre of his universe, too. This made the older question himself again. He keeps his stance strong in denying, but at the forefront of his mind, he knows the truth. He tears away from the moment.

“Thanks… have a good night,” he says, tipping his head forward to show his gratitude. He slips the sweatshirt on before putting his bag over his shoulder.

“Text me when you make it home, I want to make sure you got there safely,” Chan says. Woojin isn’t looking at him, but he can tell that he still has a thoughtful smile on his face just by the way he is talking. Before he could register what was happening, Chan brought his hands around his waist and drew him in for a hug. It took him a second to realize, and when he did, he cursed his heart for acting weird again. He returns the hug lightly, feeling the man’s dyed hair against his neck, a slightly crisp texture makes his sensitive neck cringe a bit, but he is too caught up in the moment to pay it much attention. Chan pulls back after a moment, Woojin’s frenzied mind can’t decide whether it lasted too long or too short.

“Goodnight, Woojin,” he smiles at him, but this time it’s different. It’s patient.

_ It’s pitying. _

He smiles back at him, trying to not only convince the other that he was okay- but also to try and convince himself of that as well.

He finally can open the door and see himself out, waving one last time to Chan before closing it. He also, out of habit, pulls out his key and locks up. His façade drops the minute he hears the gears of the lock shift into place. He’s alone now. And his mind makes sure to let him know.

_ You’re going to hurt them, eventually. Chan… Jihyo… hell, probably even Yejoon. You’re inserting yourself into a situation you don’t belong.  _ **_You don’t belong here, Woojin._ ** _ You’re the babysitter. _

He knows. Whatever these feelings that have arisen for Chan, or hell maybe even for this small family as a whole, are… he needs to put them away. For his own well-being and theirs.

He’ll pretend they don’t exist. As long as they’re happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I also have an Instagram now for memes and general kpop buffoonery: its @hans_jisquirrel !!

**Author's Note:**

> feedback is always welcome!


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